[walfredo]

Quote:

GREAT MUSIC
GREAT SOUND
GREAT COMMUNITY
 
[...]
 
NOTE:  Something exciting is happening as the result of requesting an Ultimate Ears Personal Reference Monitors tuning-box in the Bay Area for us to check out...will be posting more details soon!
 
(Hmmm: @Shane55, missed you this time around!   Also missed: @bobcn.   ironbut & blessingx made it out!!!)

 
C'mon, CEE TEE.  You made us all curious.  What is it?

 

[walfredo]

Quote:

You liked it that much?

Well, I did!!  I placed an other as soon as I got home.

 
 
I think that if you listen acustic music and vocals (jazz, brazilian, etc), they are hard to beat.  I'm not talking on the technicalities, of course, but on the sheer intimacy and feeling they bring out.
 
[]s
Walfredo

 

[Bill-P]

Quote:

 
HiFiGuy528 first pointed that phenomenon out to me a few days ago, and I do admit it is rather counter-intuitive.  I like my O2.  I enjoy my O2.  But that pairing of the O2 with the D7100 isn't exactly optimal.  The mids seem to drain away leaving too much junk in the badonkadonk.  So maybe that's the secret of the D7100?  They're $1,200 cans that are designed to be used with your dap (and your dap ONLY)?  Out of curiosity, what [music] were you auditioning the D7100 with?
 
Now why didn't I think of that?
 
Yeah, I'm inclined to agree with this.  When paired with the Meridian Explorer, everything came into focus.  You could say it became brighter (because it did), but that wasn't where the magic happened.  It was akin to putting on a pair of corrective lenses after a lifetime of blurred vision.  But I'm pretty sure that this is more of a reflection upon the Meridian than the Mad Dogs.

 
I pushed Paul McCartney's "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter" ( from the album "Kisses From The Bottom") to check out the mids, and then naturally, E.S. Posthumus' "Unstoppable" (from "Makara") to check out bass and treble control. They sounded pretty good, though I think the midrange was sort of shrill or hollowed out. Sorry, I'm such a midrange head. Other than that, bass was a bit uncontrolled, but everything sounded fairly neutral and with good enough timber. Soundstage was fairly decent as well. 
 
I should have put the C&C BH on the table for treble and clarity lover. It has a switch that magically jacks up treble and clarity for dark-sounding headphones. I think the Mad Dogs sounded pretty good with my iPhone as the source that way.
 
Quote:

I slept on it and decided that I couldn't wait anymore to get the Mad Dog.  Just placed my order.  Hope it arrives by Friday.

 
You're making me think seriously about buying a pair for home listening there...
 
I love my ES10, but I wished that it had more bass extension, and less bass impact at times. The Mad Dogs seem perfect for that!

 

[daigo]

Quote:

Well, I did!!  I placed an other as soon as I got home.

 
I think that if you listen acustic music and vocals (jazz, brazilian, etc), they are hard to beat.  I'm not talking on the technicalities, of course, but on the sheer intimacy and feeling they bring out.
 
[]s
Walfredo

 
I think with how Dan tunes the Mad Dogs, this is my impression of them as well.  While the mids are not as present as I generally prefer (I use AT's for the most part so I love that mid range), out of the right amp, the Mad Dog recreates live and acoustic/jazz music very well, detailed and clean with excellent bass control.  Powered by the Burson Conductor, and listening to several HD live recordings on the Mad Dog was almost enough to tempt me into another set of headphones.  

 

[daigo]

Quote:

GREAT MUSIC
GREAT SOUND
GREAT COMMUNITY
 

 
This sums it up really well.  While listening to headphones is inherently a personal, intimate, and private (well, unless you're listening to open headphones in a room with other people) experience, it's really a blessing to have this opportunity to meet and share this hobby with other people, try all this gear that many have only read about here or there and have a good time.  

 

[Bill-P]

Here are some thoughts on the 3 cans that wowed me and my brother at the meet:
 
Beyerdynamic T5P (wow factor: 9.6/10): if I have the cash to burn, I'd grab a T5P any random day of the week. The T5P I heard sounded significantly better than everything else (HD800, LCD-2, T1, etc...) and it didn't even need a high-end amp. It sounded that impressive just by being plugged directly into a DAP and into my MacBook. I was floored. And it wasn't just me that thought that. There is no way a simple recable can do that, but the owner (Tim Liu?) said so, so I guess I have to believe him. I'm recabling my ES10 soon, so let's see if it gets that much of an improvement.
 
Fostex TH900 (wow factor: 9.5/10): this is a very grand-sounding pair of cans. It did seem to require amping, but when it got the electricity it needed, it came alive. Bass was more tame than the T5P mentioned above, but it was much easier to listen to. If you have ever listened to an orchestra, this is it. The soundstage in particular was very very very wide and airy. These don't sound like a pair of closed cans at all, but yet they are. I can definitely see this one as the end-game cans for some people. The T5P above sounded more dynamic and in-your-face, but I think the TH900 takes the cake for a more neutral, laid-back, but grand presentation.
 
Audio Technica W3000ANV (wow factor: 9.4/10): this one didn't sound as grand as the other two headphones, but... oh God, that midrange... Midrange is remarkably good on these. It sounds even better than the T5P and TH900 mentioned above. I don't think the W3000ANV can match the above headphones in terms of details, or in terms of refinement, or soundstage, but... the midrange is so smooth, so good, so emotional and involving with these cans. Just saying that they're "good" really doesn't... say much. If I could pick only one pair of cans to use on my bedstand, this would be it. Now I know what to upgrade to from the ES10.
 
Mr. Speaker's Mad Dogs (wow factor: 8.9/10): when I first put these on, they sounded overly warm. I couldn't decide between dark and warm because they sounded like they had very big soundstage and with good sparkles. That was directly out of my iPhone, and out of the Schiit Lyr. Then I had the chance to try them out with the Meridian Explorer DAC, and then with my C&C BH with treble boost. And wow, that changed things quite noticeably. They sounded more neutral, more balanced, and their midrange was much clearer. Overall, I think my ES10 still has better midrange than them, but I'd prefer the bass of the Mad Dogs a lot more. ES10 has way too much bass when the music doesn't call for it.
 
Stax Sigma (wow factor: 8/10): also very wide soundstage, although I think it's because the place was so loud that I couldn't sense soundstage beyond a certain wall of noise. I think the TH900 sounded bigger than these. However, these were very easy to listen to, because they presented the music in a soft and light way that didn't seem intrusive, but still gave enough of a presence. What can I say? They sounded like I had some good speakers right in front of me.
 
AKG K1000 (wow factor: 6/10): sorry, but these weren't very comfortable. They sounded very good, though. Playing with the angle of the "speakers" gave sort of a weird crossfeed effect. Other than that, they also sounded very soft and light. Super easy to listen to. Too bad they aren't super comfortable. I think it's the clamping force.

 

[CEE TEE]

Quote:

Reading this I want to fly out there one day to attend one of the meets. If only I could find a cheap ticket...

 
Currawong!  Yeah, it's probably time we bought you a beer...
 
(Jude has been great- he supported and even flew out to the last Bay Area Meet plus came out to the SoCal meet.)
 
While I love conspiring to throw parties, I couldn't keep track of all the traffic around here. 
 
I picture something like this:

 

[HiFiGuy528]

I loved the seal the Mad Dog's new pads had and still put out a big sound.  I listened to The Doors (the end) 24/96k and thought Morrison's voice had a lot of texture, depth and intimatecy.  Female vocals were equally amazing.  It was the best I've heard from a sub $1000 headphone. 

 

[glassmaple]

As a first-timer to a meet, I was really impressed at how organized it was. I was so surprised that there were awesome name tags and even table place cards!
 
Impressions:
 
STAX SR-007 Mk1 (sn70xxx): I think this was the favorite out of all the SR series for some reason. Very clear vocals and bass.
STAX SR-009: I was going in with expectations that the SR-009 was going to be epic but it wasn't as awesome as I thought it was. Then again I think it's hard to judge fairly in a meet ambient noise level.
HD800: I tried these a year ago but don't remember much about them. This time I compared it to the SR-007 and -009. While it does bring out the same amount of details (can't judge that so much since I couldn't really hear the quiet passages that well out of anything) the sound was a lot more forward and closer in comparison. Both my friend and I both agreed that it sounded more artificial than the STAXes (how do you pluralize this??). 
LCD-3: I had a brief listen next to the HD800 and it has the same super smooth midrange as the Hifiman series. I think it's awesome if you're looking for that sound but personally I like a sharper response. Kind of regretted that I didn't play a super bass-heavy track on these but my ears were pretty fatigued by then.
HE-6: Very brief listen to tracks that I don't know but sounds very similar to the LCD-2 and LCD-3. Very smooth sound but feels a bit sharper than the LCD's.
 
I feel like all of these are going to be awesome if they were tried on at home in a quiet environment. With the ambient noise level that high open headphones have quite a disadvantage for testing. In that regard I think headphones with some noise isolation will sound a lot better in comparison at meet conditions (UE8, TH900, etc) since they cut down the noise floor.
 
With that said I think I'll abandon my quest for the higher STAX and settle on a pair of HD800 or T1. Now that I hear everyone talking about the modded T5p I feel bad not trying them out at the meet...
 
Oh yea, everyone was super nice and friendly which makes everything that much more awesome. 

 

[Maxvla]

Staxen, like a plural of ox.

 

[TheWuss]

Quote:

...While listening to headphones is inherently a personal, intimate, and private (well, unless you're listening to open headphones in a room with other people) experience.....

 
speaking of listening to open headphones in a room with other people...
in one of the videos shot by HiFiGuy528, i could hear Stevie Nicks' "Leather and Lace" so clearly that i swore it was coming from speakers.
i'll give the benefit of the doubt, and assume it was a K1000 or something. 

or perhaps an HE-6 left lying out, cranked up loud enough to keep the room entertained...  

 
if not, somebody (you know who you are) is enjoying their music at some serious dB levels.   

 

[daigo]

Quote:

Quote:
 
speaking of listening to open headphones in a room with other people...
in one of the videos shot by HiFiGuy528, i could hear Stevie Nicks' "Leather and Lace" so clearly that i swore it was coming from speakers.
i'll give the benefit of the doubt, and assume it was a K1000 or something. 

or perhaps an HE-6 left lying out, cranked up loud enough to keep the room entertained...  

 
if not, somebody (you know who you are) is enjoying their music at some serious dB levels.   

 
Oh that happens quite a bit with some of these open headphones at meets.  A couple of times on Sunday, I would be in mid conversation with someone and then this music would just blare out as someone fired up some rig and we would pause and see where the music was coming from.  Definitely not the best environment to fairly judge some of the set ups, which is why the organizers have suggested for a while to set up smaller meets with fewer people to have quieter listening environments.  

 

[cclragnarok]

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STAX SR-007 Mk1 (sn70xxx): I think this was the favorite out of all the SR series for some reason. Very clear vocals and bass.

 
Was there a 70xxx SR-007 at the meet?  The serial number on my pair is 71xxx, and all the others I saw were SZ1-xxxx and SZ3-xxxx serial numbers.

 

[glassmaple]

Quote:

Staxen, like a plural of ox.

 
+1 to that. Sounds fierce lol
 
Quote:

 
Was there a 70xxx SR-007 at the meet?  The serial number on my pair is 71xxx, and all the others I saw were SZ1-xxxx and SZ3-xxxx serial numbers.

 
Haha was that what it is? Then it's probably a 71xxx. I took a picture but it was too blurry at the S/N to make out anything after the 7.
 
Your rig was awesome though. Thanks for letting my friend and I try it out!

 

[Questhate]

Quote:

Staxen, like a plural of ox.

 
I know Staxen is the correct way, but Staxasis seems to get less "huh?'s" in real life. 
 
RE: the Mad Dogs -- I wish I tried the new Alpha pads after reading the impressions here. I heard them with the Dog Pads in SoCal and the mids were my issue with them, as well as bass control. Seems like the new pads address these issues.